Snow and cold weather... in the Northeast... in January. Surely, such an unprecedented development in the New Normal should predictably justify explaining away at least a 1% miss of Q1 GDP (which when inventory destocking is factored in, will likely come in negative). Still, 20 inches of snow dropping in one night is somewhat abnormal, especially when one adds a blast of cold air to accompany them, and explains why even the area major airport hubs - JFK in New York and Logan in Boston - are all closed currently, while key NYC transportation hubs, I-84 and the LIE, closed at midnight and won't open until 8 am.

A massive winter storm dumped 20 inches of snow on parts of New England and looked set to cripple much of the Midwest and Northeast on Friday as millions faced dangerously cold temperatures. Sub-zero wind chills have arrived with the storm, and the biting wind and blowing snow have shut down interstates and airports alike.

John F. Kennedy Airport in New York is officially closed, and Boston's Logan International is effectively shutdown, as well.

Interstate 84 in New York and the Long Island Expressway, closed at midnight as the storm roared in, will remain so until 8 a.m.

Snowfall reports varied widely, with New York City receiving 7 inches, Baltimore some 3 to 6 inches, Philadelphia roughly 5 inches, Hartford 6 to 10 inches and Boston as much as 14 inches.

Some 20 inches have already fallen on other parts of Massachusetts, according to The Weather Channel lead meteorologist Michael Palmer. Boxford, Mass., northwest of Boston, reported 21 inches.

Winter weather and wind-chill advisories were in effect in at least 22 states, stretching from Chicago through the New York tri-state region into New England and affecting an area home to more than 100 million people.

"It's going to be brutal," Weather Channel coordinating meteorologist Tom Moore said. "People that are vulnerable are really going to be hurting."

The high temperature in New York City will be in the teens on Friday during the day and drop to between 5 and 8 degrees in the evening, with the wind chill making it feel well below zero.

"This is nothing to be trifled with," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "We have learned too well over the past few years the power of Mother Nature. We have seen the damage that has been done."

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick dismissed all state workers at 3 p.m. on Thursday, and urged residents to minimize time outside and be aware of frostbite and hypothermia symptoms. "That is a very, very dangerous set of circumstances," he said.

There's the snow, and then there's the cold...

Temperatures from upstate New York to Maine were below zero, and wind chills — the "feels like" effect — were minus-30 in some spots. Across the Northeast, residents were fretting about the blast of bitter cold.

“I think I’m more concerned about the terrible cold Friday night rather than the storm itself," David Ball of Scituate, Mass., which was facing coastal flooding, told NBC affiliate WHDH. "Hopefully the power stays on."

The weather was affecting air travel, with some 1,350 flights being cancelled Friday on top of more than 2,000 on Thursday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

Chicago will struggle to get above minus 8 and by Monday morning the wind will make it feel like it's 40 below zero there. In Green Bay, Wis., where the Packers host an NFL playoff game Sunday evening, the low temperature could reach minus 18.

"Even Atlanta's northern suburbs could be in single digits by Monday night," Moore said.

Larry Wittmers, a hypothermia expert at the University of Minnesota-Duluth medical school, said it's not necessarily the coldest areas that face the most peril.

"True hypothermia cases turn up more often in more southern regions because people are not prepared and don't know what to do," Wittmers said.

... And when adding the two, bad things happen:

And even though record snowfall is not expected, the cold could make
roads even more hazardous because the snow-melting salt that homeowners
and road crews use loses effectiveness at between 10 and 20 degrees.

To
give plows time to work and guard against vehicles getting stranded,
New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and closed
several major roads, including the Nassau and Suffolk county sections of
the Long Island Expressway from midnight to 5 a.m. New Jersey also
declared a state of emergency.

"As this winter storm unfolds,
bringing heavy snow and high winds to many parts of the state, I
strongly urge all New Yorkers to exercise caution, avoid travel and
stay indoors," Cuomo said.

In other words: one of those truly rare events - a real winter storm. In January. And in other news, just once we would like to see the inclement weather blame the weak economy for a change...

Doesn't work like that, the sea level rises and sea level falls, water comes, water goes. You just have to wait till the conditions are right and ride the crushed ice back out to sea and freedom. It's the real old catch the wave and yer sittin on top of the world song and dance, or in her case at the moment, at the bottom.

as far as I know it was mostly tourists (the "global warming expedition" label is mostly a cheap - and humourous - snipe), they were airlifted by a Chinese helicopter and the operational crew is still on board

Reminds me of that Copenhagen AGW global summit a couple of years back ... which got snowed-in by a major blizzard. Hate it when it does that. lol ... So then then wised-up (well, not really) and switched to Cancun Mexico, and just after Cat 5 Hurricane 'Wilma' had hit it ... ah ... that was so much more like it ... a catastrophe! lol

reading too much IMF? taxes and sovereign debt are two sides of the same coin. if I would plan a global tax, I'd ask first for global bonds

the same template which was pushed (and luckily failed) by some in regard to Euro-Bonds

the rest is just the usual propaganda used to keep deposits in legal environments which are understood better. after reading some comments on the last articles... let's say I still fail to see the logic applied there

boy just cause some snow and cold temps hit NE USA and well most of northern USA and canada and south polar areas - you guys make fun of the terrible global warming that dooms us all..you guys look at real data and never see the adjusted data that makes AGW so real so close so very bad for the polar bears and birds and fish and stuff..

herd a repost to our ZH AGW troll, Flack but you may enjoy, ala todays little disturbance in the force of AGW:

To all the AGW is fixed science: predictions from year 2000 and earlier:

"1. Within a few years "children just aren't going to know what snow is." Snowfall will be "a very rare and exciting event." Dr. David Viner, senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, interviewed by the UK Independent, March 20, 2000.

2. "[By] 1995, the greenhouse effect would be desolating the heartlands of North America and Eurasia with horrific drought, causing crop failures and food riots…[By 1996] The Platte River of Nebraska would be dry, while a continent-wide black blizzard of prairie topsoil will stop traffic on interstates, strip paint from houses and shut down computers." Michael Oppenheimer, published in "Dead Heat," St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Actually if there are crop failures it is because of the cold and bad weather. And as far as the drought NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shows that precipitation -- rain and snow -- has increased slightly over the century.

3. "Arctic specialist Bernt Balchen says a general warming trend over the North Pole is melting the polar ice cap and may produce an ice-free Arctic Ocean by the year 2000." Christian Science Monitor, June 8, 1972. In 2008 Dr. David Barber of Manitoba University said "We're actually projecting this year that the North Pole may be free of ice for the first time," (ignoring the many earlier times the Pole has been ice free).

U make a good point. Why all of the fuss over a possible 7 inches of snow in NYC. They should be prepared for this type of weather. Meanwhile, victims of hurricane Sandy still wait on federal money to rebuild.

Really, this happens most years and most years they act like its a surprise. Its winter. We get blizzards in the north. We're lucky today. We get enough warning to lay in supplies and plan for safety. You hunker down and then you dig out. With modern weather forecasting, they're just annoying, inconvient and expensive. A few people might die either from stupidity or bad luck, but fewer than in a flood or a big tornado, which are also annual occurrences. On November 11 in 1940, my mother was going home with her parents to the Twin Cities after visiting her grandparents in Cumberland, Wisconsin when they were caught unaware by the great Armistice Day Blizzard. A storm was expected late in the day, but the primitive forecasting tools available at the time did not allow weathermen to see the scope of the approaching disaster and their timing was off. The weather was lovely when they got into the car and left the farm. By early afternoon it was in the 60s, and it was only a trip of 75 miles, but the rain started around Lindstrom, and the temperature started to drop. The rain turned to ice, then the snow started falling and the wind rose while they were somewhere on old Highway 61 around Forest Lake, where there was nothing but miles of farmland and 25 miles still to travel. She remembers grandpa frequently stopping to clear the windshield, trying to see where the road was under the snow. She remembers the tension in the car and grandma telling her to be quiet because grandpa had to concentrate. They were scared. It was the only time in her life she heard her father curse. She remembers how long it took to cover that 25 miles. The storm was huge, cutting a 1000 mile swath over the midwest and dropping 16 to 27 inches by surprise. Many men and boys had taken off work and school to go duck hunting in the warm weather, and they were out by the water, many of them in their shirtsleeves. They were trapped and they died, 49 of them along the Mississippi in Minnesota alone.

It's not that bad. The snow is light and drifty, in fact I will be going out and cleaning it from the steps with a broom. The problem is the people out in it, and the accidents caused by their clumsiness, haste,, or lack of judgement. I went to Trader Joes last night to get a bag of rice (ran short) and chocolate chips (cookies, bitchez). The shelves were cleaned out of milk, eggs, meats, fruits, and cereals, breads were running low, and the hordes had discovered the freezer section and were starting to empty it. This store is in an area of fairly well-off and educated white collar, mature professionals and retirees. it is not Harlem.

Something real is always happening, IR. If you think the 8 million people in this metro area all live in towers and feed via grubhub, you are a victim of either mass ignorance or poor insight. Do you think riots would be a comeuppance? Only on a fairly random basis. Your redemption is in your own preparedness, for your own mind, body, spirit, and family (which are extensions of the first three). Why does everyone wish revenge on their brothers?

I can't say anything about an extended power outage of NY City, but have family that lives there. When the grid went down 7 or 8 years ago, I heard many stories of people helping each other until power was restored.

I was impressed with how the citizens responded and helped each other.

Hey, PAF, I got nothing but love...tough love. You're one of my favorite posters here. I don't hate NYers, I'm just done with NY. 7 years I was there. It's too much work. I got no beef against you babe. Thanks for the "on the ground" post. I'm sure you'll do fine in any situation. Seeing barren shelves was enough. "It's a nice place to visit but a better place to rob!" Beasties

The shelves were cleaned out of milk, eggs, meats, fruits, and cereals, breads were running low, and the hordes had discovered the freezer section and were starting to empty it.

hence the fear porn mongering. best of both worlds: perfect excuse to get consumer spending up & beyond rational levels & perfect excuse to use in case the latest consumer spending/GDP figures don't add up the way that they want them.

This pretty much nails the cause of the situation, and blows expedition leader Chris Turney’s claim about being “surprised” about the situation literally out of the water.

In my post Now that the ‘Ship of Fools’ is safe in Antarctica, tough questions need to be asked one of the questions I asked was:

9. Did the sightseeing excursion to Mawson’s Huts on December 19th and again on Dec 23rd (apparently to Mertz Glacier, though their blog and “tracker” are unclear on this point) cause delays that caused the ship to be trapped in rapidly changing weather which closed the sea ice around them?

“The third drama of the day is the one which is still unfolding. Because of the Argo mishap we got off late, and had one less vehicle to ferry people to and fro. I’m told the Captain was becoming rather definite late in the afternoon that we needed to get everyone back on board ASAP because of the coming weather and the ice closing in. As I write we are continuing to make extremely slow progress through what looks like a winter alpine snow field – it’s yet another surreal part of this journey that we are in a ship trying to barge our way through here! I’m sure the Captain would have been much happier if we had got away a few hours earlier. Maybe we would have made it through the worst before it consolidated as much as it has with the very cold south- easterly winds blowing the ice away from the coast, around and behind us as well as ahead.

It looks like the “rescued” climate scientists, journalists, and tourists will have to wait on-board the Aurora Australis awhile longer while this episode plays out. There is still a lot of ice ahead according to the webcam on Aurora Australis (seen below) which had been slowed to a crawl, making only 1/4 knot.

I grew up in Chicago and Peoria and this was normal, expected weather. It's January for chrissakes. You ate your steaks with cheese, fries with cheese, cheese omelettes, maybe a doughnut or two and moved on.

That Feb 2013 42 inches of snow in CT for me last year, amongst some key law changes, made me throw in the towel. I hear my old friends throw out the usual comments to why "NY is the best" about all that you can do....the theater....the nightlife. 18 dollar mixed drink, shithead. Who wants to pay 18 bucks for an ounce and a half of vodka? The 1700 dollar a month 600 sq. foot roach motel, the fuckin shitty winters that are getting worse, 3 hour commutes and having to work 70 hours a week. Spanish is spoken more widely there now as the Pwerto Rikaynios invade by the tens of thousands. Have it. Enjoy it. Keep it. I may visit, but do not bank on it. Wait until another blackout that will surely happen again. Fuck that.

oil pan heaters cause global warming, and there is no need for them as global warming is keeping us all toasty, next we will see people post that winter jackets and gloves are now needed ,,LOL like get with it, you are cold only as long as you deny global warming, stop it and save the planet, the truth of AGW will keep us warm, better yet -let's tax and fine the idiots who will not accept the truth of Rev Al Gore..blessing be upon him.

I've been sleeping on public transit the last couple days. Its tough. The longest line is 80 minutes. You got to get out and wait in the cold for 10 minutes at each end. Enough people freeze to death every year so they let us be.

The guy behind me was complaining. "These homeless have it have it to easy, we should do like back in Georgia, Ball & Chain, not this three meal shit, put them to work, They act like this is a hotel"

Its nice to know that not everyone is satisfied with record incarceration rates, we now need to lock people up for trying to keep their fingers.

But the new corporate owned prisons have signed deals with the governments that if the incarceration rates fall and they can't keep the prisons packed, then said governments must pay them recompensation. So let's all do our part and fill up the prisons. After all, USSA is still #1 in that department, even if the typical Wal-Mart shopper can't add without a calculator. Colorado's legalization of pot yesterday is definitely a step in the wrong direction. I just sold off my stock in CIA.

Wow! Imagine how much more f-frigid it would be without all that global warming that the green tyranny movement and Al Gore's Church of Climate Change has been warning us about. We should all run our cars 24/7 in order to warm things back up!

Perhaps that is the whole point, I am a martial artist at heart, my master one of the last generations sworn to Bushido.

The last time i rented a studio i found i could not sleep on a soft bed. I slept on the floor every night. I aspire to this hardiness in every aspect of my life.

I enjoy simple pleasures, the sensation of swallowing water. The taste of plain bread.

Once after breaking a 3day fast i came to understand the taste of food. I ate a loaf of stale bread and it was the greatest tasting food i have ever eaten. Years later i can still remember the texture. Far greater than anything you could imagine.

Not to say i am bound to the streets. If one of my projects involves creating an impression of a certain higher class i can afford it.

Fucking downstate pussies. Emperor Cuomo-in-mouth closes two downstate interstates, but up here in Rochester, we all just shoveled and snow-blew our ways to work and play.

Got 20 inches easy here in Irondequoit, shoveled driveway yesterday, neighbor snow-blowed my driveway again last night and I just got back in from shoveling off another 10 inches and the occasional drifts as high as 3 feet... and it was still snowing.

Nothing like a good, steady 36-hour snow to see who's a man and who's a mouse. Those pussy downstaters can keep their Broadway shows and high-priced drinks. We gots snowmobiles, skis and blow hos, who will give you $20 and some wicked head for shoveling them out.

Fuck you, Obama, and you too Cuomo. I'll be gone from NY for good in about a month. Don't know why I didn't do it 30 years ago. I'm whistlin' Dixie from here on out.

And my mama criedAnd my mama criedNanook, a-no-noNanook, a-no-noDon't be a naughty eskimoSave your money, don't go to the show

Well I turned around and I said oh, oh ohWell I turned around and I said oh, oh ohWell I turned around and I said ho, hoAnd the northern lights commenced to glowAnd she said, with a tear in her eyeWatch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snowWatch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow

I 've been watching the BBC the last few days. The stranded trawler is a top headline but not once have they said why the scientists were there. No doubt The L.A. Times hasn't either since they have banned letters to the editor describing agw as a hoax.

We didn't heat the upper floor of our house in winter in Michigan. Dad was a machinist and mom washed dishes in a nursing home. Seven kids in a three bedroom house and grams lived with us a while on the couch until she passed. I never once heard mom or dad complain about lack of anything but we were taught to be thankful. We ate meat twice a week and pancakes and noodles and rice a lot. Pancakes are Hollanders equivelant of beans I would guess. The fact that dad grew up in a log cabin 180 miles NW of Edmonton Alberta might have something to do with why to this day i enjoy ice fishing and sitting in a tree stand in the winter. Yes sir, yes maam, open doors for females and all older than you is what we were taught. I am just 58 but when I look around it is mainly grief I feel for this country and I wasn't raised on feelings. It is 62 in my house and I am comfortable because I have decided that will be comfortable. Wow, I have decided. The three words in America that we don't hear much any more. That would include I have decided and I made a mistake. I guess maybe 7 words that matter. It is called winter people but I think it is the winter of America as well. Dad just turned 88 and mom 83 and we are looking for nursing homes. I didn't have the heart to tell dad about the Canada supreme court voting to legalize prostitution. See I have four sisters and three daughters. Victimless right? Unless maybe it is your sister or daughter? To each his own? Maybe turning down that prositute job denies you your unemployment benefits? I have a buddy who said he quit looking at porn after his daughter was born. I asked him what his mother-in-law thought of that? He gave me that look my beagle gives me when he doesn't understand what I just said with his head cocked to one side. America, land of the fee and home of the depraved. It is winter, in more ways than one. Heading for the tree stand this afternoon, high 15 degrees but that venison in the freezer will be mighty nice.